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construction and designfranchise developmentNewsrestaurants

Dairy Queen to Open 187 New Restaurants Internationally

by Katie Lee

Minneapolis — International Dairy Queen, Inc. (IDQ), through its wholly owned subsidiary American Dairy Queen Corporation, has signed deals to open DQ® restaurants in new markets Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and grow the number of DQ restaurants in Qatar. The deals commit to opening 187 DQ restaurants throughout the four markets. “Entering new markets and growing existing markets is a key component of our growth strategy,” says Nicolas Boudet, COO international at International Dairy Queen. “With 7,700 DQ restaurants in more than 20 markets, we’re pleased to add to …

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construction and designfranchise developmentNewsrestaurants

Layne’s Chicken Fingers Signs 44-Unit Deal, Largest in Brand History

by Katie Lee

Frisco, Texas — Layne’s Chicken Fingers has signed a monumental 44-unit franchise agreement with Eli Cohen, an experienced real estate and restaurant developer, across its home state of Texas. Layne’s will expand across West Texas, San Antonio and the Coastal Bend. With this deal, the Texas market is now over 90% sold out, leaving room for expansion in just El Paso and a few smaller, single-unit territories. “Sealing an over-40-unit deal in our home state is a major milestone for us as we approach 100% market saturation across Texas,” says …

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construction and designNewsretailers

Academy Sports + Outdoors Opens 5 New Stores in Fourth Quarter

by Katie Lee

Katy, Texas — Academy Sports + Outdoors has opened five new locations in Q4 2025 in Russellville, Ark.; Seguin, Texas; Fort Wayne, Ind.; El Paso, Texas; and New Braunfels, Texas. With the addition of these stores, Academy will have opened 24 total new locations by the end of fiscal 2025. “We are thrilled to expand our footprint with 24 new stores,” says Eric Friederich, senior vice president of retail operations at Academy Sports + Outdoors. Academy is a leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer in the United States. …

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construction and designfranchise developmentNewspeoplerestaurants

Bagels & Co. Taps Restaurant Industry Veteran as New COO

by Katie Lee

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Kevin Armantrout, who has held executive roles with several nationally recognized brands, has been named chief operating officer for Bagels & Co. which has several locations now open in Pennsylvania and Florida with plans to expand to additional cities across the U.S. Armantrout has built a distinguished career leading high-growth restaurant and hospitality brands through expansion, operational transformation and cultural renewal. His extensive experience in management, site selection, construction and building a strong foundation for franchising from the ground up are an asset to Bagels & …

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construction and designfranchise developmentNewsrestaurantsretailers

Wienerschnitzel Opens First Walmart Store Restaurant in Arizona

by Katie Lee

Tempe, Ariz. — Wienerschnitzel, the world’s largest hot dog franchise, is celebrating its first restaurant opening inside a Walmart Supercenter, located in Tempe, Ariz., this month. This milestone marks the beginning of a broader non-traditional growth initiative, with six franchised restaurants planned for Walmart stores across the U.S. As Wienerschnitzel accelerates its expansion strategy, the opportunity with the retail giant represents a major step forward in bringing the legacy brand’s signature menu to high-traffic, convenience-driven environments. Additional restaurants are slated for Puyallup, Wash.; Alamogordo, N.M.; Reno, Nev.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; …

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construction and designNewsretailers

Wayfair Testing Smaller Store Format with First Ohio Location

by Katie Lee

Boston — Wayfair Inc. will open its newest namesake retail location in Columbus, Ohio, in late 2026. At approximately 70,000 square feet, or about half the size of previously announced Wayfair stores, the Columbus location will serve as the company’s first prototype for a smaller-format model. This will also be Wayfair’s first brick-and-mortar location in the state of Ohio. “As we scale our retail strategy, we are focused on both expansion and experimentation,” says Liza Lefkowski, vice president of merchandising and stores at Wayfair. “Not only are we thrilled to …

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construction and designfranchise developmentNewspeoplerestaurants

Smalls Sliders® Expands Executive Leadership Team

by Katie Lee

Atlanta — Smalls Sliders has made a series of leadership appointments. The company has named Ryan Crumley as its new chief development officer and promoted Michael Alberici to chief marketing officer. These two additions round out CEO Charles Watson’s executive team. Additionally, the company has promoted Adam Roof to vice president of finance. He will oversee financial planning, forecasting and scalable systems designed to support the company’s rapidly growing franchise network. Crumley most recently served as chief growth officer at Tidal Wave Auto Spa, where he helped grow the company …

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construction and designNewsretailers

CYBEX Opens First Flagship Store in New York City

by Katie Lee

New York City — German baby products brand CYBEX is opening its first flagship store in New York City, marking a new milestone for the international brand in the U.S. The boutique features the complete CYBEX product portfolio: strollers, car seats, baby carriers, home and living solutions, and accessories. Located on the iconic 127 Greene Street in SoHo’s historic Cast-Iron District, the boutique spans 2,300 square feet across a single floor, and embodies the brand’s philosophy of merging luxurious functionality with contemporary design. “After our flagships in Prague, Tokyo, Amsterdam …

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construction and designfranchise developmentNewsrestaurantssoftware/technology

Sweetgreen Grows “Sweetlane” Footprint with First-Ever Infinite Kitchen Drive-Thru

by Katie Lee

Costa Mesa, Calif. — Sweetgreen, a mission-driven restaurant brand serving healthy food at scale, will open its first-ever Infinite Kitchen sweetlane location in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Nov. 18. The new restaurant marks an evolution in Sweetgreen’s reimagining of fast food — blending its in-store hospitality with the efficiency of its Infinite Kitchen technology and the added convenience of a drive-up sweetlane for digital customers. First introduced as a pilot concept in 2022, the sweetlane was designed to offer a seamless pickup experience for digital orders. With more than a …

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construction and designNewsretailers

Boll & Branch Grows to 15 Stores Nationwide

by Katie Lee

Summit, N.J. — Boll & Branch, a leading luxury bedding and home brand, has opened its 14th retail location at SouthPark in Charlotte, N.C., and its 15th retail location at Bethesda Row in Bethesda, Md. With these additions, the brand will nearly double its retail portfolio in 1 year, growing to 15 stores nationwide and deepening its presence in key markets across the country. “Nearly doubling our retail footprint this year is a pivotal milestone in bringing the Boll & Branch experience to more customers nationwide, while creating meaningful, 1:1 …

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